Okay, as a quick update, the combat DID click with me at some point. I think there are a few elements that were holding me back initially. Despite taking heavy amounts of inspiration from Sekiro, the way the parry works is definitely slightly different. You can't cancel out of your regular attacks with it, there is recovery on the parry itself, and the dodge has a surprising amount of recovery frames (you can effectively dodge an attack only to be hit by a followup attack before you have recovered from your dodge).
Beyond that, this is obviously a game with a lot of technical hiccups. So, it isn't uncommon for the game to get framey mid-combat. In a game that has such a heavy emphasis on parrying, this can really screw up your ability to react effectively. Also, it DOES feel like there is some input lag, though that could just be a combination of all the above factors coalescing.
Overall, I ended up enjoying my time with Fallen Order. It is definitely rough around the edges, and it is unfortunate that there wasn't a more bosses (it almost feels like there are only a handful of "real" boss encounters, and many of those are fighting the same opponent), but I do feel like the combat ended up providing the most compelling Jedi experience yet. A sequel that builds off of everything that worked, and polishes all the rough elements, could be truly incredible.